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The only way this could possibly work is point to point LOS between the nodes.

A flying WAP 800ft up has line of sight to pretty much anything in the area.

That said, while TFA doesn't mention it, the intended use of this likely involves a (ground) base station with a satellite uplink established in a clearing, which then uses WDS or similar to provide access to one or more flying relay nodes.

Interestingly, though, I don't see the advantage of "drone" in this situation. Tethered weather balloons can a

Absolutely right about tethered balloons being much more efficient. However, drones have one significant advantage - namely, that when the NSA has got what they need, the drone can be withdrawn to leave the "bad guys" (that's all of us) in the dark.

We already have an alternative in place and it's a lot harder to shoot down a satellite in orbit than a drone. If you're about to say satellites beaming down internet are more expensive than drones, the satellites are already up there and the drones aren't so not really.

I'm sure that for short-term applications a fixed-wing drone getting its feed from satellites and flying figure-eights over a ground point is what they have in mind. But consider the potential of a quadcopter carrying an access point. Once you guide the drone up to some high point on a crag and set it down, all of the solar power collected by the device can be applied to running the AP, rather than keeping the drone flying. In all but the flattest areas there will be some high but difficult-to-access place, such as a minaret, with some cranny where a drone AP can roost. And if conditions change, you can always reposition it.

I just recently looked into solar energy, and you don't get as much power as you would need to constantly maintain flight. But a solar powered quadcopter connected to a balloon wouldn't need as much energy. The quadcopter would only kick in to maintain position every once in awhile.

it works pretty well; the device carries a 3g/4g hotspot to drive itself to where it has to go, then turns off the wheels, turns on the wiifi, and sits there (solar panel). You can see a video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]